by Dean Cadman
When Lusam got closer to the contraption, he could see clearly how it had been constructed. It was a simple wooden frame with a ladder at one side, and what looked like taught leather stretched over the other. The child at the top suddenly shouted something to his friends, whilst pointing excitedly at the sea below. Three of children gave a quick reply, then immediately dived into the sea head first. By this time, Lusam and his party had almost reached the point where the children were playing, and they finally noticed their approach.
The children suddenly stopped what they were doing, and focussed their attention on the four strangers walking towards them. They had the guilty look of children who had just been caught doing something that they shouldn’t, and as Virion drew level with them, he said something to one of the young boys. The boy seemed to be denying something to Virion, but a moment later, the three children who had just dived into the sea, resurfaced behind him. Two of the three children had a large fish in their mouths, and their eyes went wide at the sight of Virion. The children on the street scattered, laughing and giggling at their stranded friends still in the water. Lusam smiled to himself. It reminded him so much of the street kids back in Helveel.
Virion berated the children over something for a moment, then continued his journey as if nothing had happened.
“I wonder what they were doing wrong?” Neala asked, not really expecting an answer.
“I don’t think they were doing anything wrong as such. I think I heard Virion mentioned a Basku, which I believe is a type of shark that hunts in packs,” Renn replied.
“You’re correct,” Durlan said quietly, “but we call them Baski in Afaraon. They’re a migratory species, and particularly dangerous to fishermen. They don’t often come too close to shore, but they have been known to take children and dogs from time to time, even when they were swimming near to the shoreline. Virion is right to be concerned about the children’s safety. At this time of year the Baski are migrating south to warmer waters, and their appetites are almost legendary.”
Lusam shuddered at thought of being eaten alive by a shark, and glanced back over his shoulder to see if the children had heeded Virion’s warning. Thankfully, they were nowhere to be seen.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Five minutes later, Lusam and his party arrived at their destination. Virion opened the wooden door of the building, and ushered them all inside. “Please you here wait. I say Gydren you come,” Virion said, in his broken Afaraon. He disappeared through another door, and left the four of them alone in the sparsely furnished room.
“Would anyone like to translate that?” Neala jested.
“You’re lucky that he speaks any Afaraon at all, lass. Most of the Nauroe never stray far from their floating city throughout their entire lives,” Renn replied quietly. Neala never had a chance to respond, as the door suddenly reopened, and Virion signalled for them all to enter.
The room was much larger than Lusam would have guessed, and far more grandly furnished than the previous room had been. A man, presumably Gydren, sat behind an ostentatious looking desk. He looked to be in his middle years, but with a complete lack of hair, it was hard to tell. Just like every other Nauroe that Lusam had seen, he too was completely covered in tattoos. His skin wasn’t quite as dark as the sailors’ had been, but Lusam put that down to him probably spending more time indoors than they did. To each side of him stood an armed guard, and both instantly locked their eyes on Lusam as he entered the room. Gydren smiled as he looked up from his desk, revealing a set of sharply filed teeth, just like the others. But unlike the others Lusam had seen, his were made of gold, or at least covered in gold.
“Good morning. Please, come inside and make yourselves comfortable. My name, as I’m sure you have guessed by now, is Gydren. But before we make our formal introductions to one another, I’m afraid that I must insist on you handing over your weapons to my two friends here,” Gydren said smirking. His Afaraon was clear and precise, with barely an accent at all. His two guards started to move forward to take their weapons, but Lusam knew that Neala would never surrender them, and doubted very much that Renn would either.
“There’s no need for that,” Lusam said.
“Oh, I assure you there is, young man,” Gydren replied. Lusam stepped forward, and instantly created a large fireball in each hand. The two guards almost fell backwards away from him, and Gydren’s smirk was instantly replaced by a look of fear and concern.
“Then you will want to take my weapons too then?” Lusam said, holding out the two fireballs towards the retreating guards. Lusam didn’t want to cause any unnecessary tension between Gydren and their party, but he also didn’t want Gydren pushing them around and trying to renegotiate the terms of their deal either. He let the fireballs fizzle out in his hand, then turned back to speak with Gydren once more.
“As you can see, there would be little point in taking their weapons,” Lusam said in a calm tone. Gydren paused only for a moment, before waving his guards back to their original positions.
“Quite,” Gydren said, inclining his head to Lusam. “So, you are the young man who intends to kill Lord Zelroth, I presume?”
“You’re correct. I am the one who will kill Lord Zelroth,” Lusam replied, inclining his own head in reply. Gydren’s smile returned, but this time Lusam could see the uncertainty behind it.
“We shall see. But that is none of my concern, so I will get right to it. If I am not mistaken, I believe you are here to negotiate passage to Thule for yourself and your friends here?”
“You are only partially mistaken,” Lusam replied, pausing a moment before continuing. “We have already negotiated the terms of the agreement, and simply wish to pay what we owe, and then be on our way.” Lusam watched the colour rise in Gydren’s face. The instant Gydren had asked for their weapons, Lusam had guessed his true intention was to attempt to extort more gold from them. Something he couldn’t allow to happen—even if he had wanted to—as he barely had much more than the agreed five hundred gold coins anyway.
Lusam didn’t think that Gydren was capable of using any magic, but he decided to check his aura all the same. He activated his mage-sight to check, and almost let his calm outward demeanour slip at what he saw. For the briefest of moments, he thought that Gydren did indeed possess the ability to use magic, but then he realised what he was actually looking at. Directly behind Gydren, at the other side of the wall, was an Empire mage spying on them. He was watching and listening to their conversation through a small spyhole in the wall. It took all of Lusam’s self restraint not to send a blast of magic through the wall to kill him, and he almost didn’t hear what Gydren said next.
“You are mistaken to think that the terms of our agreement have already been made. I haven’t agreed anything, with anyone yet. And as such, if you wish to acquire the services of the Nauroe, you will have to agree to whatever terms I deem fit to set,” Gydren said smugly.
Lusam struggled to stay focussed on the current conversation whilst he thought about what he’d just discovered. Had the Empire mage simply discovered their presence by accident? Or were they already aware of their arrival? Would he now return to his ship, and arrange an attack on them? Or simply set sail and take the information back to Lord Zelroth? And did the Nauroe know about the Empire spy, or were they just an innocent party in all of this? So many questions swamped his thoughts, but one answer came almost immediately. Even though he was looking directly at Gydren, he could still see someone else enter the room where the spy was. A quick nonchalant glance in his direction, confirmed who it was. Virion.
Lusam returned his attention back to Gydren, but could clearly see the Empire mage hand over a bag of coins to Virion. He took it with a smile and a slight bow of his head, then turned on his heels and left the room again. The Empire mage returned to his spyhole, and continued to monitor them.
Gydren had a smug look of satisfaction on his face at Lusam’s extended silence. He had obviously taken it as a sign of weakness, and was
about to say something else, when a knock came at the door. Gydren called out in his native tongue for whoever it was to enter, and in walked Virion. He never said a single word, he simply gave a small nod, and left the room again. Gydren’s smile grew even wider.
Lusam knew at that moment they had been double crossed. The Nauroe had sold them out to the Empire. He knew the Nauroe were scared of any reprisals from Lord Zelroth, and he could understand that. Renn had already explained to him that the Nauroe expected him to fail and be killed by Lord Zelroth. All the Nauroe had really done, was try to ensure their own survival by informing the Empire about his plans. It would make little difference to the outcome whether Lord Zelroth knew he was coming or not, he decided. All he needed was a ship to rescue his mother, and he wasn’t about to be refused one by Gydren, or anyone else.
Lusam locked eyes with Gydren and stepped forward towards his desk, whilst at the same time he erected a strong magic barrier around himself and the others. The guards visibly tensed but didn’t move, and Gydren’s confident smirk lessened somewhat. Lusam removed the bag of five hundred gold coins from his belt, and dropped it on Gydren’s desk, damaging the delicate veneer on impact.
“Here are my terms. You can either accept these five hundred gold coins and provide us with an appropriate vessel, as previously agreed. Or I can take these five hundred gold coins back, walk out of this room, and destroy the Empire ship currently in your harbour, along with anyone else who gets in my way. After that, I will simply take a ship of my choosing to complete my mission. Oh, and I don’t have much time to waste, so I’ll give you one minute to decide,” Lusam said in a cold, hard tone.
Gydren’s eyes went wide with a mixture of shock and anger. He obviously hadn’t expected the negotiations to go like this, and now found himself re-evaluating his situation from a much weaker position. Renn began to say something, but Lusam held up his hand, and thankfully he chose to remain silent. Lusam knew that Renn would be worried about the High Temple’s agreement with the Nauroe, and he didn’t intend for them to lose out over his actions.
The silence in the room stretched out for what seemed like an eternity. Lusam knew that the Empire mage would have undoubtedly already reported his threats to his fellow magi, using his Necromatic ring. He had no doubt that they would be preparing to set sail at that very moment, and he felt sure Gydren would know that too. He didn’t care if the Empire ship escaped and reported back to Lord Zelroth. After all, Lord Zelroth must already have known he was coming, or he wouldn’t have sent the ship in the first place. The only difference now, was that he knew when he was coming, and Lusam could live with that.
One thing he couldn’t allow to happen though, was for Gydren to stall proceedings long enough for the Empire ship to escape. If he did, he would lose his main leverage, and probably end up having to kill innocent people when he took a Nauroe ship by force. Something he wanted to avoid at all costs, if he could.
Lusam had to give Gydren credit for holding his nerve for so long, but his time had finally run out. Lusam stepped forward once more, picked up his bag of gold coins, and said, “Time’s up.” Without a pause, Lusam spun around and blasted Gydren’s office door with his magic. The door exploded outwards, showering the room beyond with thousands of shards of wood. Lusam saw the stunned look on Renn, Neala and Durlan’s faces. He smiled and winked at them, trying to let them know he hadn’t actually gone mad.
“Do you want to watch me destroy the Empire ship, or would you prefer to wait here until I get back?” Lusam asked Renn and the others casually. They didn’t have a chance to answer, but they did give him some very strange looks.
“WAIT! WAIT! Please. I accept your terms,” Gydren pleaded. Lusam winked again at the others, before turning to face Gydren. He tossed the heavy bag of coins back onto his desk, destroying another section of the delicate veneer.
“Very good. We would like to see our ship then, if you don’t mind,” Lusam replied, gesturing for Gydren to lead the way. Gydren’s jaw dropped slightly at his sudden request. Lusam could only imagine what was going through his mind right at that moment. He had just sold them out to the Empire, then been forced to do a deal with Lusam because he’d threatened to destroy the Empire ship. And now he was being asked to provide the agreed ship for Lusam’s party, without first giving the Empire ship time to escape.
“But… but… it’s not ready yet,” he lied, poorly.
“Well, I’m sure we can find one that is,” Lusam replied, turning and walking out of the door.
“Wait! Please,” Gydren called after him, but Lusam ignored his calls, and continued walking. Renn, Neala and Durlan followed him out of the office without saying a word. Once they were on the street outside, Renn caught Lusam’s eye and gave him an enquiring look. He wasn’t able to explain anything before Gydren came running out of his building to join them. Lusam smiled inwardly at the sight. Not because he had made Gydren chase after them, but because of his strange appearance. It was the first time he had seen him standing, and he was quite possibly the shortest person he had ever seen in his life. None of Nauroe that Lusam had seen could be considered tall, but Gydren was no taller than an average eight-year-old child in Afaraon.
“So, which one is it?” Lusam pressed him. “Is it in the harbour?”
“No… no. I told you, it’s not ready yet. We need time to prepare the ship for you,” Gydren said desperately.
Lusam turned to face Gydren, and erected a soundproof barrier around them all. He didn’t think the Empire mage would be close enough to hear them naturally, but he might have been using magic to enhance his hearing.
“I don’t believe you,” Lusam said flatly. “And shall I tell you why I don’t believe you?” Gydren considered his words, then nodded.
“I don’t believe you, because you sold us out to the Empire.”
“I did not!” Gydren protested.
“Yes, you did. I could see the Empire mage spying on us from the room next to your office. I saw your man Virion receiving a bag of coins from him. Then he came to your office, to confirm to you that it had been done. I know the Empire mage communicated my threat to destroy his ship to his fellow magi, and at this very moment, they’ll be scrambling to ready their ship to leave your harbour. I also know that’s why you’re insisting that our ship isn’t ready yet, so it will give the Empire ship time to escape us. But you don’t have to concern yourself with that. I have no intention of destroying it, providing you honour our agreement.”
Gydren’s eyes seemed to grow wider and wider with each word Lusam said. To his credit, he stopped trying to deny any of it shortly after Lusam’s first revelation about the Empire spy. It took Gydren a while to compose himself afterwards, but when he did, he turned back to Lusam and said, “How do I know that you won’t destroy the Empire ship anyway?”
“You don’t. But if I wanted to destroy it, I would have done it when we first arrived. Or even now for that matter. But if it makes you feel any better, I give you my word, that I won’t destroy the ship before it reaches its destination. After that, I cannot promise you anything.” Lusam watched his face closely. He could tell that Gydren still had his concerns about his deal with the Empire, and any future reprisals from it.
“Look Gydren, I understand the position you’re in right now. You thought you were protecting your own people by selling us out to the Empire. I can understand that, I truly can. And I know if I do destroy that Empire ship, you believe that Lord Zelroth will seek his revenge against you and your people for double crossing him. Which is exactly why I chose not to destroy it. So, with that in mind, can I assume that you’d prefer everything to stay exactly the same as it was before our visit?”
“Yes, of course. If that’s even possible,” Gydren replied sceptically.
“It is, and I’m going to offer you a deal to make sure that it happens,” Lusam said.
“What kind of deal?”
“If you show us to our ship right now, I give you my word that we won’t l
eave your harbour until first light tomorrow morning. That should easily be enough of a head start for the Empire ship to reach Thule before we do. That way your standing with the Thule Empire should not be damaged, and trade relations with them should continue as normal. In return, I ask only that any pre-existing arrangements with Afaraon are also honoured, including the one you have with the High Temple. No one here needs to lose out from our dealings today, Gydren. But you should know that if you choose to take me up on my offer, I will hold you to your word.”
It didn’t take Gydren long to work out that he wasn’t likely to get a better offer, and he shook Lusam’s hand to seal the deal.
“I will send Virion to take you to your ship. I wish you calm seas and swift winds for your onward journey,” Gydren said, bowing his head. “Now if there is nothing else I can help you with, I must get back to my office and attempt to find a carpenter.”
“Yeah, sorry about your door,” Lusam replied sheepishly. “Actually, speaking of carpenters, there is one other thing you can help me with.”
“Dare I ask?” Gydren said, cringing slightly.
“I need four barrels of nails. But don’t worry, I’ll pay you for them,” Lusam said, chuckling at the puzzled look on his face.
Gydren nodded. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said, turning on his heels and heading off in the direction of his partially destroyed office.
Renn whistled. “Maybe I should let you negotiate for me, from now on, lad. You certainly know how to drive a hard bargain,” he said chuckling to himself.
“Yeah, I thought you were going to have the poor man in tears at one point,” Neala said laughing.
“I’m confused,” Durlan suddenly said.
“Oh, how so?” Lusam asked.
“Well, was it Gydren you didn’t like, or just his desk and door?”
Everyone roared with laughter, and by the time Virion arrived, they must all have looked like a bunch of crazy people to him.